eCommerce Heavyweights open Their Websites to Display Ads

Three big ecommerce players are opening up their websites to display advertisements.

by William White

Amazon led the way in August and now according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart and The Home Depot have joined in this additional revenue stream for ecommerce sites.

When Amazon started what was regarded as a low-key test of display ads on its home page, spaces were taken by companies such as The Ford Motor Co. and Fidelity investments. But unlike Wal-Mart and The Home Depot, Amazon does not restrict advertisers to its own suppliers. Amazon also differs in that it allows links outside of its website to its advertisers’ own site. The Home Depot and Wal-Mart sites allow links only to pages within their respective sites.

Apart from a source for additional revenue for the eCommerce Giants, the development also means additional inventory and advertising placement opportunities for advertisers.

Meantime, Microsoft is reportedly involving a number of advertisers in a pilot scheme for its adCenter Content Ads programme. The ads will initially appear on MSN Money, MSN Real Estate and Windows Live sites.